Oprah Winfrey and Peter Adamson

There are thousands of investors around the world, each with diverse agendas, different views, and a plethora of funds to support their ideals. Oprah Winfrey being one of the most powerful names and brands in media today has gained an empire worth over $2.4 billion dollars (Pilon, 2010).  As a young adult Oprah emerged into the entertainment field acting and winning awards for such performances in “The Color Purple”, “Native Son”, and “The Women of Brewster Place” ("Oprah Winfrey's Official Biography", n.d.). Along with her acting career Oprah created both Harpo, Inc. and Oprah’s Angel Network, both of which aired the Oprah Winfrey talk show. Over her career Oprah has gained millions of fans, countless awards and has dedicated her life to giving back to those in need. Her work has made her one of the richest African-Americans of the 20^th century (Pilon, 2010), and has crowned her one of the most influential females in the world.  

            As a leading lady in business Oprah stands for one main recipe for success which is “follow your instincts, that’s where true wisdom manifests itself” ("Oprah Winfrey", n.d.). Having invested her time, money and life’s work in her fans, friends, and family, Oprah has taken her business and given it back to the people who have supported her. Although she has reached an end with the Oprah Winfrey talk show, she has began her next business move to the Oprah Winfrey Network, a television station which strictly focuses on investing in herself along with thousands of individuals and organizations that make a difference.

With Oprah’s new dynasty she has hired a manager that will invest her money wisely. This investor himself has quite a reputation for innovative investing. Peter Adamson, a graduate of Sanford University with a degree in Business, has had a successful career as an advisor, consulter, and investor for Eli Broad, McKinsey & Company along with billionaire Lee Bass to name a few (Memmott, 2010). Adamson in an interview had stated he was drawn to business because he wanted to do something that was practical (Bonar, 1990). Adamson’s colleagues and mentors have often described him as the most hard working, dedicated young individual they had ever been in contact with. He has a way of focusing on what’s important instead of total figures or amounts. Adamson’s success can be recognized for his personal technique to “tailor his investment strategies to individual clients based on their goals and tolerance for risk” (Bonar, 1990). This is why Adamson and Winfrey will make a great partnership.

Taking a look at these professionals and their strategies for success, I think it is important as a young entrepreneur to incorporate your personal interests and passion into your life’s work. Knowing that others have succeeded before you with this equation for success, it is always a great reminder to know what you stand for as a business owner, to know what your brand stands for and to invest in your passions. Sometimes the smartest move is the road that has never been taken, and maybe along the way you can discover a new path that will change the way you and the rest of the world walks.

A New Hollywood

Being just 3 months short of graduation has become a very stressful thought for me. Growing up in a state like Utah can have its challenges when you want to merge your career in the entertainment industry. While Utah is closer to California, where a large part of the film industry is located, I decided to make a cross-country trip to Disney World in Florida to work for the company I had idolized since I was a little girl. Now, after working at Disney for over a year and being nearly finished with my Master’s Degree, I have done what any other future graduate has began to do – look for a job in the field of my study.

With the job search in mind, I am happy to announce that Utah may very well be the next Hollywood. With the already accelerating population growth rate from the 2002 Winter Olympics and the ever-growing Sundance Film Festivals, the film industry has had a very warm welcome in Utah. The biggest news of all is that Raleigh Studios’ decided to move to Utah. Raleigh Studio’s, the major motion picture studio know for such works as Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, is building not only a soundstage but an entire entertainment center that will include hotels. This will give celebrities and crewmembers convenient places to stay while shooting on location in Utah.

It was also announced that, because of the entertainment center, future graduates would have more opportunities to hone their craft by doing internships and applying for positions in the industry while staying in one location.  Utah has welcomed this upcoming attraction by giving more tax breaks to film production companies, making this already high profiled film state even more desirable. This will create more jobs and artistic freedom for young graduates like myself. I guess its time for me to pack my bags!

Dine In Theatre

For this weeks post I had a very interesting experience that I wanted to share because I felt from a future business owner’s point of view it was a very original idea and will be the future of movie experiences. As many of you are aware, I currently work at Walt Disney World, and I try my best to keep current with Disney’s training and innovative business practices. A while back, Disney partnered with AMC and created the Dine In Theatre at Downtown Disney. In the past, theatres have earned most of their revenue not just from ticket sales but from concession stand sales, and I don’t know about you, but how many treats or beverages do you actually buy at a theatre that you don’t pay an arm and a leg for?  AMC and Disney have now changed the approach to revenue growth from concessions to full gourmet meals. The best part about this dining experience is the prices - all food platters range from $4 to $12 dollars making it a very affordable experience. To top off the great meal selection the seats themselves inside the theatre are a lot more confortable then the normal seating selection most theatres have to offer.

            With the Disney/AMC dining experience you simply show up to your movie, select your seats, pay for a ticket (which is only $2 more then an average show) and take your seats. From there you have a personal waiter/waitress that will take care of all your dining needs throughout the show, without large disruption, due to the layout of the theatre. All aisles are on the side of your viewing areas so your waiter/waitress will not obstruct or distract your attention or the attention of those around you. The most impressive piece of the puzzle, however, is the call button. This little button, which simply very dimly lights up to signify to you that you’ve pressed it, is a signal to the waiter/waitress that let’s them know you need something – be it a drink refill, to order a snack, or just to tell them you’re ready for the bill. For me I will never watch another movie at a theatre again unless it’s accompanied by dinner.

            As you can see from the link the idea of more entertainment dinning experiences are spreading fast with Universal Studio’s implementing a summer dinner experience. Enjoy!

Troika

Above is a picture of me attending a great presentation given at Full Sail University in marketing. The presentation was given by current employees of Troika, if you wish to learn more about the company you can visit them at Troika.tv.

Happiness Sparks Creativity

Throughout my personal career I have discovered numerous management techniques that individuals use inside a work place.  These methods range from micromanagement to positive reinforcement models. It is my personal belief that if you are in a management position creating a positive atmosphere for your employees will make you and your team more successful in nature. Giving employees a residence to feel the freedom and joy of happiness helps trigger creativity, while unlocking doors of comfort and endless potential.

To illustrate these theories I have found a great TED talk that reveals how the psychology of happiness and the functions of the brain can effect an individual’s personal interpretation of any given situation, to help create a patterned consequence.  Shawn Achor gives supported evidence to back his theory of happiness.

Watch Video Here

 Now that we have watched the video I want to discuss how some of his techniques can be applied in a management approach. For example, Shawn discusses how happiness releases dopamine into the brain making it easier for an individual to process incoming data and intake that data to create an innovative approach to any given situation. Knowing this key element as a manager can give you the upper hand in people management. I would also like to point out if you feel at anytime you or any of your employees or co-workers ever feel the need to create happiness in your workplace, all you have to do is construct a more positive viewpoint on everyday circumstances. You can do this by completing daily or weekly exercises, which includes writing lists of positive details that enhance your love for your work. You can also surround yourself with opportunities to do service for other individuals in the work place or reliving optimistic experiences you encountered within the last 24 hours. Doing these steps continually will release dopamine into the brain relieving menial stresses and leave feelings of happiness and creativity.

I have also applied these techniques within my work environment recently and seen the outcome to be accurate.  I had heard that two of my close coworkers were thinking of transferring departments due to upper management degrading attitudes. Because I wanted to create happiness in my workplace, I decided to decorate their cubicles to let them know others appreciate them and the hard work they do. By doing this it gave them a feeling of necessity to the team and discharged a happy atmosphere at work that day. In fact, productivity was much higher then it had been all week. I strongly believe it was due to the attitude of each individual. When they were happy at work, their approach to work was ecstatic and pleasurable. 

If you would like to learn more techniques for people management or leadership you can check out classes given by the Disney Institute, which helps demonstrate and support the idea of happiness and creativity wrapped up into attitude making each individual a team member for success.

Deal Making and Negotiation

Everyday we as individuals negotiate, whether it’s in business or our personal life. From the moment we crawl out of bed in the morning, we decide and determine our attitude, attire, what we will eat for breakfast, and what we need to accomplish that day. Because of this, one of your biggest negotiation opponents is yourself. Learning to use negotiation skills to their full potential can help us progress in our daily lives and can often result in many life changing choices.

I had the opportunity to interview a young professional, David Malley in the sales field of business. His current position is Sports Administrator and Sales Representative for the Walt Disney World Company. During our interview, he discussed several interesting topics including the importance of negotiating skills and how to implement them with a potential client to make them a permanent client.

I asked David how he determines his approach to a potential client. He thought for a moment and then drew an outline of a square and divided it into four boxes. He proceeded to explain that Disney sorts clients into four categories, which consist of: Analytical, Driver, Amiable, and Expressive. From those categories he labels the potential client and mirrors their attributes, making communication with the client easier. From here he uses the company’s affiliations to help gain power and control of the negotiation. If a relationship with the company becomes more of a need than a want, the client is more likely to become involved with the company. This provides the company with leverage. If you wish to see more on these four concepts David discussed, please visit their website here.

David went on to explain that working for such a big company has taught him his strengths and weaknesses, especially within his negotiations. It has also given him key concepts to help strengthen his own approaches. He was happy to encourage any young professional to try and gain experiences through internships before they graduate making them more successful with their skills. If you are interested in Disney internships please visit their website at this link.

Dating Can Be Fun

Last week I had an experience where a guy came up to ask me if women would rather date a male with money versus one who was still in school or had student loans to pay. He asked what women consider when going on a date with a man and if the cost of the date mattered. I told him that being a graduate student allowed me to completely understand his worry but I also made him aware of different options. I told him that personally I would look not at the money someone makes but at the potential of the individual. I would rather date someone who has no money but has great work ethic that could potentially increase his future revenues.  Basically the moral of the story I told him was to look for women who would help him as an individual progress and be supportive in nature. Along with that advice I gave him some cheap date ideas that are still creative and romantic. So I just wanted to share a couple of those ideas on this blog. Some of the ideas I had were from the Marie Claire website, located here. 

1-Drive in Movie- You could stop at a supermarket on your way and buy all the snacks you want, then head over to the movie for a creative cinema experience in a comfy private setting.

2-Dinner Reservations- You plan, shop and cook your favorite meal together, it is a great way to have a good conversation and see how the individual works in the kitchen.

3-Shaving Cream Art on the Table- This is a fun creative way to spark each others artistic abilities, it can also help with conversation starters if  this date is your first.

There are many more creative inexpensive date ideas on the web, you can also take a look at  niftydateideas.com for creative first date ideas. Dating can actually become something to look forward to and it doesn’t have to burn a hole in your pocket. Have fun!